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About the NM Water Dialogue

West of the 100th Meridian people like to quote the adage, Whisky's
fer drinkin'; water's fer fightin'! We don't believe that has to be true.
Dialogue is about listening actively to try to understand - and not to
judge - another person's viewpoint about a strongly held value, in
order to discover whether at some level you share common ground. "Water
dialogue" encompasses our Board's attempts to discover ways to address
contentious issues about how we will share, manage and protect this scarce
and vital substance, and be stewards of its sources, so that they will continue
to sustain us and those who will follow us.

Our articles of incorporation define the purpose of the New Mexico Water
Dialogue: "To promote the wise stewardship of water resources in New Mexico
through support of community-based forums for education, communication, and
development of common ground." Though
this is still true, it has seemed incomplete. In fact our work goes
several steps further. The diversity of the voices represented in Dialogue
forums and on our statewide Board of Directors means that we seldom take
positions on the content of water policy. But we share broad understanding
about the need for open, inclusive and democratic processes in the development
and administration of those policies, and we keep track of policy-making
activities in the Office of the State Engineer, the Interstate Stream
Commission, and the New Mexico Legislature to make sure that they adhere to
these principles. To reflect these concerns, the Dialogue's Board adopted a revised
mission statement on July 27, 2007. The language agreed to by the Board
reads as follows:

Mission Statement

"To promote the wise stewardship and assure the availability of
water resources for future generations of New Mexicans by

sponsoring community-based forums for
education, communication, and development of common ground;